Violin-bow



Aug. 11, 1964 J. A. BRIED VIOLIN-BOW Filed May 28, 1962 i i (r INVENTOR.

United States Patent Office 3,143,913 Patented Aug. 11, 1964 3,143,913 VIOLIN-BOW Julien A. Bried, R0. Box 739, Berkeley 1, Calif. Filed May 28, 1962, Ser. No. 198,205 10 Claims. ((11. 84232) This invention relates to improvements in violin bows, and which term as used herein also includes bows for playing the viola, cello, and bass-Viol, and the invention has for its object a violin-bow construction which, in its complete form, provides the following advantages over the conventional violin bows as used since time immemorial:

It does away with the use of horse hair, now so very expensive, yet produces as good or clearer and more brilliant tones. It does away with the rosin-rubbing of the bow, and consequent falling of rosin powder about and over the upper side of the violin. It is stronger than any other bow of approyimate weight, and lighter than a conventional bow of the same size and which facilitates the execution of delicate and fast notes. The specially treated fibers or playing strands used in place of horse hair are several times as strong, and at about the cost, and will wear much longer, and need not be tensioned and released when through playing, for sample bows have kept their initial tension for over a year wtihout the slightest slackening. Also, the treated fiber is proof against vermin or minute maggots which have been known to eat the horse hair from a long-standing bow in a violin case.

The initial hairing, or rehairing of the bow (if ever required) may be done in five minutes by the use of pre manufactured and processed strands-unit provided with a loop or stop at both ends, simply hooked in place and just as simply detachable or reversible by unhooking.

Other advantages of the invention will appear in the detailed description to follow, and in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 of the drawing is a full size side view of my complete improved violin-bow construction (broken in length) showing in dotted lines the inner construction and the securing of the ends of the playing strands unit at opposite ends of the bow.

FIG. 2 is a cross section of FIG. 1 taken along the line 22 thereof.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the outer end of the bow.

FIG. 4 is a detached view of the playing strands unit, showing an open attaching loop at both ends.

FIG. 5 shows a strands-unit like that of FIG. 4 but indicates the strands to be bodily twisted a few turns in the length of the bow, and with fixed stops at both ends instead of loops.

FIG. 6 shows such a stop for the ends of the strandsunit locked in a depressed socket, as may be formed in the bow end blocks.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a jig to illustrate one way of forming the looped end playing strands-units.

FIG. 8 shows in perspective, a stiff paper tube with a premanufactured playing strands-unit wrapped spirally aboutit, and held in place as by a tack through each end loop pushed into the wall of the tubeas for storing or marketing the unit.

In further detail the drawings show the stick of the bow at 1, the outer or head block 2, the finger-gripping piece or block 3, and the hair or playing strands-unit 4. This unit is preferably not with the strands in a flat layer as are the horse hairs in conventional violin bows, but is shown as a small compact group or bunch of strands (preferably about the full size shown in the drawings) formed with a securing loop 5 at each end.

Such a playing strands-unit is contemplated to be factory made, for merely hooking in place to a pin 6 fixed or screwed in the bottom of a socket 7 formed in the blocks 2 and 3, but the unit may easily be made by hand by winding a strand or thread back and forth from pin to pin, 6, 6', or more easily on a jig shown in FIG. 7 as will later be described.

Instead of the attaching loops 5 at opposite ends of the strands unit, there may be a ferrule 5 crimped about the strands as indicated in FIG. 5 or 6, or a knot or any other stop device may be applied at the ends of the bunched strands to lock them together, for even tensioning, and anchoring the unit in a socket as at 7 in FIG. 6. I prefer the end loops hooked over the pins 6 with the pins slanted as shown in FIG. 1 and covered as by a thin plate 8, 8' preferably formed with hooked edges 9 slidably engaged over the complementally formed side edges of the blocks 2 and 3 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The end blocks 2 and 3 are formed with a groove 10 to seat the neck of the bunched strands adjacent the loop, and the strands may be tensioned for playing by the conventional construction of having the finger block 3 slideable along the stick, which is hollow at that end and slotted, and the block carries a nut 11 engaged by a threaded rod 12 extending inside the stick, and provided at its free end with a finger turning nut 13. But, as stated on page 1, the strands may be of fixed tension which appears to be permanent.

As a violin bow should be light as well as very strong, I have met this requirement by preferably making the stick out of a piece of natural bamboo which tapers smaller toward the outer end of the bow and is secured to the head block in a split socket 14 which is tightly clamped around it as by a rivet 15 or screw. Such bamboo strips are generally naturally curved slightly longitudinally, and the outward curve is arranged to arch toward the playing strands as indicated by the dotted line 16 in FIG. 1 so that it will straighten out when the strands are tensioned for playing. As such strips of bamboo are readily obtainable for a few cents a bunch for use as garden plant markers, and a good percentage are of suitable size and curve, it follows that they cost but a fraction of the cost of the carved hardwood bows so long in use, and are much lighter. The end blocks 2 and 3 are preferably made of aluminum or magnesium for strength and lightness.

In regard to the playing strands 4, there have been many attempts to substitute various fibers to displace the now so very expensive horse hair, with other strands such as silk, cotton, rayon, nylon, and extremely fine metal fibers such as copper and silver, but all have failed, and principally because they will not hold rosin, and lack of tone quality yielded by horse hair.

However, after long experimentation, I discovered that several other fibers may be treated to become useful, and especially nylon, and even horse hair improved, if they were impregnated with a solution of a pitch-like material such as pine pitch, asphaltum, and tar (of roofing grade), when such pitch-like materials were dissolved in a volatile solvent, such as benzene, ether, and other pitch solvents, and it is preferable that the dissolved pitch-like material be soaked into the innermost structure of the fiber, and preferably that enough applied so that after evaporation, the strands will be just gummed together. Nylon thread size A, about the size of horse hair, gave best results.

Also, instead of arranged the strands in a wide, flat layer as in conventional violin horse hair bows, I found the notes produced by such impregnated strands to be clearer and more brilliant if the strands are of relatively few fibers, and arranged in a narrow bunch about A; of an inch across. Trial bunches of a width or diameter of from to A inch appear to give the best results, and the increased brilliancy of the notes produced is thought to be contributed by the fact that there is no wide blanketing of the music strings vibrations as when straddled or overlaid with a wide band of horse hair as with a conventional violin bow.

tinually exposed to the air for over a year have neither lost their original tension nor their music string gripping quality, though they may be cleansed of any accumulated greasiness, with a clean rag or with a touch of solvent on it, or lightly passed over gently once or twice with a piece of asphalt, though very little or none of the impregnated material will be removed or wear off and fall onto the violin as with a conventionally rosin covered bow.

To make the end-looped playing strands-unit shown in I FIG. 4 of the drawing, the jig shown in FIG. 7 may be used. This jig comprises an elongated base 17 mounting two spaced end blocks 18, 19 adjustable along the base and each block having an upwardly projecting pin 20,

each preferably with a head or right angle bend 21 and just below which a thread (dotted at 22) is tied, and then the thread is wound back and, forth over the pins and the final end is tied to the first end. Then the-threads may all be pushed together, or up against the pin heads, and wrapped around with the thread adjacent the pin heads as at 23 in FIG. 4 and tied. The loops .and thread wrapping are then given a coat of shellac or glue to lock the ends and loops in formation and dried before treating the bunched strands with the dissolved impregnating pitch, which may be applied and worked into the grouped threads from all sides from end to end with a brush, and dried before removal from the jig (the pins may first be Wrapped with a small piece of cellophane or waxed paper before wrapping with the thread to prevent sticking). Also stead of on a jig.

As it is contemplated that such looped ends (or stop crimped or knotted ends), strands-unit be factory made and processed to standard lengths for easy hooking in place, they should not be folded or kinked, but they are the premanufactured bow strands units are provided with a loop or stop at both ends, to be simply hooked in place. This means that the strands unit may just as simply be unhooked, turned over, or turned end for end, and rehooked in place at any time the unit may show a slight wear or injury on the side in use.

Having thus describedmy improved violin bow, what I claim is:

1. A violin bow in which the playing strands are impregnated with a solution of a normally slightly tacky pitch-like substance.

2. A violin bow in which the playing strands are impregnated with a solution of a normally slightly tacky pitch-like substance, sufiicient to at least slightly stick the strands together.

3. A violin bow as set out in claim 1, said strands being in bunched formation.

4. In a violin bow as set out in claim 1, said pitch-like substance including asphaltum.

5. In a violin bow as set out in claim 1, said pitch-like substance including tar.

6. A group of violin bow playing strands of nylon 7 threads impregnated with a solution of a normally slightly tacky pitch-like substance.

7. A group of violin bow playing strands of nylon threads impregnated with a solution of a normally slightly tacky pitch-like substance, and the group; is twisted a few times only in the length of the bow.

either one or both pins may be turned or pulled out to preferably spirally wrapped about a stifi paper tube 24 i 8. A group of violin bow playing strands of nylon thread bunched together to a cross sectional dimension throughout its playing range of from about to W inch, and impregnated with a pitch-like substance.

9. A group of violin bow playing strands bunched together to a cross sectional dimensions throughout its playing range of about to 7 inch, and impregnated with a pitch-like substance including asphaltum.

10. A group of violin bow playing strands bunched together to a cross sectional dimension throughout its playing range of about to inch and impregnated with a pitch-like substance including tar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Sweden Feb. 8, 1944 

1. A VIOLIN BOW IN WHICH THE PLAYING STRANDS ARE IMPREGNATED WITH A SOLUTION OF A NORMALLY SLIGHTLY TACKY PITCH-LIKE SUBSTANCE. 